


I Wanted To Hate You But I Can't Escape You (You're In Every Song, Every Song From The Past)

by problematiclesbian



Category: Carmilla (Web Series), Carmilla - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, F/F, Musician!Carmilla, Other, lawstein brotp
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-27
Updated: 2016-08-15
Packaged: 2018-04-28 10:32:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5087338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/problematiclesbian/pseuds/problematiclesbian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>“So, just to be clear,” Laura asked as she glared at her friend over the top of her drink, “you want me to contact Carmilla, a girl I haven't spoken to in 5 years, who, as far as I know, is my high school nemesis turned world famous celebrity, convince her to hang out with me while she’s in town, get enough information to write an entire article about her, and then prove your theory that she was secretly head over heels in love with me in high school?</i><br/>LaFontaine put their glass down with a mischievous grin. “Not exactly. I don't just think she was in love with you in high school. I think she still is."</p><p> </p><p>5 years after they all graduate from high school, the mysterious and now world famous rockstar Carmilla Karnstein returns to Canada for a visit to her home town. In a deal from her boss that she can't refuse, journalist Laura Hollis agrees to use her past connection with Carmilla to get an exclusive interview. An interview Laura is sure will never happen, because she and Carmilla hated each other then, and still hate each other now..... right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Miscommunications Lead To Fall Out

**Author's Note:**

> Starting another fic to avoid finishing my other fics. I hate endings!! Anyway, I'm at allloversbetray on tumblr if you wanna talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fic title from "On The Radio" by Scouting For Girls, chapter title from "Story Of Us" by Taylor Swift.

“Hey, Hollis! Meeting in 5!”

Laura waved her hand distractedly in response, her eyes focused on her phone in her lap. Normally she wasn't one to text on the job, but today wasn't a normal day by any standard.

"Laura, did you hear the news?? Carmilla is back!!" Kirsch bounded up behind her, full of his usual excitement.

When they had graduated together, Laura had been lucky enough to find a job at the most popular magazine in Canada. She'd started as an intern, of course, but a year later she had already worked up to a writer, even if it was just fluff pieces about the weather and gossip. When the newspaper had asked her about a photographer, Laura had been quick to recommend Kirsch for the job, and now they were a team.

“Yeah, I heard.” Laura grumbled. Her friends wouldn’t stop texting her about the return of goddamn Carmilla Karnstein.

After high school, while the rest of them had gone off to college, Carmilla had gone off to pursue a career in music. Now she had millions of screaming fans, recording offers, and autograph requests. In the middle of a world tour, Carmilla had taken a month off to return to her home town for a break and everyone was freaking out about it. Laura was just annoyed.

“I don’t see why it’s a big deal. It’s just Carmilla Karnstein.”

Kirsch looked at her like she had grown a second head.

“Laura, Carmilla is a serious hottie! Plus, she’s like totally a famous rockstar now!”

Laura rolled her eyes. “It’s not like she’s coming back to see her old high school friends, Kirsch. She hated me, remember?”

Kirsch furrowed his brow in confusion. “What? Dude, Carmilla totally-”

Whatever Kirsch was about to say was cut off as Betty appeared in the doorway, gesturing for the two of them to hurry up and follow her. Laura grabbed her notebook and ran out of the office, grateful for the opportunity to stop talking about Carmilla fucking Karnstein.

“Careful, the boss is on the warpath today,” Betty whispered as they entered the conference room, settling into their seats.

“That’s ridiculous! If I wanted a complete disaster of a cover page, I would’ve asked you to do it!” Lilita Morgan yelled, as she threw a stack of papers at a helpless intern. The intern scrambled to pick up all the papers and get out of the way as Lilita spun around and slammed her hands onto the conference table. “Alright people, I need numbers! How many readers did we have last month??” She turned her fiery gaze to the unlucky young man on her left.

Laura tuned out this part of the meeting. She knew it would just be Lilita’s usual ranting and yelling. Laura was waiting for the part where her boss asked for ideas to get more readers. Every month she submitted her ideas for new investigative articles on thrilling crimes and mysteries. Laura was always rejected, but she didn’t give up.

“You! Spindledwarf!” Lilita pointed a menacing finger at Betty. “You write the celebrity gossip column, don’t you??” Betty nodded her head rapidly.

“Yes, ma’am, I do the-”

“Don’t interrupt me while I’m speaking!” Lilita demanded. “Are you aware of who is currently in town?”

Betty was flustered. “Um.. Carmilla Karnstein?”

Laura let out a huff. Of course she couldn’t escape talk of famous Carmilla.

Lilita turned to glare at the noise and then rounded back on Betty.

“Then tell me, why aren’t we doing an exclusive feature on her? She’s the hottest celebrity right now and we are literally in her home town. And yet, for some reason that I cannot possibly fathom, you’re here wasting space, and not out there, interviewing her. Can you tell me why that is????”

“Um, Ms. Morgan?” the small intern said timidly from side. “I don’t mean to interrupt you, but Carmilla Karnstein doesn’t do interviews. She hates the paparazzi. She’s never done a single interview or photoshoot.”

Lilita Morgan let out a long angry sigh.

“So,” The intern seemed to realize her mistake as Lilita turned to focus her anger on her, “you’re telling me that I have all of the best journalists from across the country in this office, and not one of them can figure out a way to get an interview with some angsty rockstar?”

Lilita glared around the table as everyone put their heads down, nervously avoiding eye contact.

“Ooh! Ooh!! Ooh!!!” Kirsch was jumping up and down in his seat.

Laura froze. What the hell was Kirsch doing?

Lilita looked at Kirsch with an expression a normal person would give to gum on their shoe. “Yes?” She asked sharply.

“It’s just that, like, Laura and I totally went to high school with Carmilla! And I bet she would talk to Laura! And Laura is a totally awesome reporter so it would be perfect! Then you can get your exclusive!” He looked excitedly at Laura, then faltered slightly at the glare Laura was giving him.

“No way!” Laura exclaimed. “I am not talking to Carmilla Karnstein. I’ve been free of her for 5 years and I’m not about to go talk to her now.”

Then Laura realized who she was talking to.

“Are you saying no to me?” Lilita asked in a dangerously low tone. Laura held her ground.

“I’m sorry, but I won’t do it. She wouldn’t talk to me, anyway.”

Lilita tapped her chin with one finger as if she was deep in thought, as her eyes scanned over Laura, looking for weaknesses.

“Miss…. Hollis, yes?”

“Yes?” Laura’s voice wavered slightly under Lilita’s harsh gaze.

“You’re the one with all those… ideas.” Lilita rolled her eyes, “So how about I offer you a deal? A little incentive to get this exclusive. You get me this interview with Karnstein, and I’ll let you write the next cover story on whatever little mystery your heart desires.” She gave Laura a sickly sweet smile.

Laura’s heart was racing. This was her chance to finally get to write the piece of her dreams. She didn't have a choice. 

“Fine.” She mumbled. “I’ll do it.”

Lilita gave a triumphant smile. “Great. You have two weeks to get the story. Don’t disappoint me.”

Laura slumped back in her chair as Lilita moved to yell at someone else. Betty nudged her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile.

“Hey, I mean, she’s a hot rockstar, right?. How bad can it be?”

* * *

 

That evening, Laura joined her friends at the bar for their usual Friday night round of drinks. After her second beer, she poured out her frustrations about the Carmilla interview to LaFontaine and Perry.

“I mean, this is the worst idea Kirsch has ever had! I know you guys were kind of friends with her in high school, but this is crazy, right? I don’t even understand why he thinks Carmilla would talk to me.” Laura looked at her two friends for support as she finished her rant.

Perry was avoiding eye contact by staring intensely at the rim of her glass while LaFontaine burst into laughter.

Laura huffed and took an angry sip of her beer. “This isn’t funny, okay? Getting a cover story would skyrocket my career and the only chance I have of getting it is by interviewing my high school nightmare-”

LaFontaine finally stopped chuckling enough to speak.

“L, you’re kidding, right? I mean, come on. We’re talking about Carmilla Karnstein here, right? The one who had a total crush on you since like, 5th grade?”

Laura spit out the sip of beer she was taking.

“What?!???”

Perry sighed as she patted the beer off of LaFontaine with a stack of napkins.

“Laura, honey, you can be a little oblivious sometimes. I think what LaFontaine is trying to say is Carmilla cared about you a lot then and she probably still does, so there’s no reason to stress about this interview.”

“We hated each other!! She followed me around all the time, teasing me and annoying the hell out of me!!!" Laura spluttered at her friends in disbelief.

“Are you serious, Laura? It’s no secret that Carmilla Karnstein was practically in love with you in high school.” LaF said, looking at Laura incredulously. “We all knew it. Are you really saying you didn’t know?”

Laura continued to shake her head in disbelief. “No freakin way. No. Carmilla Karnstein? The one who annoyed me for all of highschool and is now a world famous rock star?? No way."

Even Perry was giving her a look now.

"Sweetie, it was kind of obvious. She flirted with you all the time."

Laura looked at her friends in shock. Had she fallen into some bizarro opposite universe where suddenly nothing made sense?

“I can’t believe this. Have you guys lost your minds???”

“Wait, are you saying not only did you not know, but that wasn’t you liking her back?” Perry seemed genuinely surprised now.

Laura looked around the bar to see if there was cameras. Maybe she was on some sort of prank show right now? Maybe this was all a dream? No, this was a nightmare.

“Of course I didn’t like her!!! I hated her! And I thought she hated me!!”

“Then why were you always talking about her and planning new ways to annoy her and getting all red when she walked past you in the hallways?” LaFontaine asked with a wide smile.

“Wha, I, She, that, that was anger!! I talked about her because I was so mad at her!!”

Lafontaine took another drink, obviously not buying Laura’s story.

“Well, that’s not what we thought. Actually, I’m pretty sure we all thought she was going to ask you out after graduation. But then she got that record deal and left and didn’t get to say goodbye to anyone.”

Laura stared blankly at the wooden table as she reanalyzed all her high school memories of Carmilla in her head. She looked up at LaFontaine, momentarily distracted from her disbelief.

“No, that’s not true. She came to say goodbye to me…”

LaF laughed out loud again.

Of course she did! That girl was totally head over heels for you.” They leaned forward excitedly. “Why didn’t you tell us?? Did she ask you out?? Cause now you can totally say you got asked out by one of the biggest celebrities in the world!!”

“I, um…” Laura blinked as she flashed back to that moment 5 years ago.

_“Laura! Someone’s at the door for you!” Her father called up the stairs to her._

_“Coming!” Laura called as she bolted down the stairs, throwing open the door without checking to see who it was. “Who is it-”_

_Laura froze as she took in Carmilla, standing outside Laura’s house, her usual combat boots and all black ensemble disrupted by the addition of the single white flower Carmilla was holding._

_“Hey.” Carmilla said quietly._

_“Bye.” Laura said flatly, swinging the door shut._

_“Hey, no wait!” Carmilla cried out frantically, grabbing the door handle before Laura could shut it._

_“What do you want Carmilla?”_

_“I, um,” Carmilla shuffled her feet as she looked down and Laura sighed in annoyance._

_“Look, I know I was kind of annoying at school sometimes, and we didn’t always get along but… I was wondering if you wanted to hang out or something?” Carmilla rushed out her words quickly and then blushed furiously._

_Laura looked at her suspiciously. “Why? So you can make your dumb jokes and try to embarrass me?”_

_Carmilla frowned. “No… I kinda meant like maybe a da-” Laura cut her off._

_“Look, Carmilla, we just graduated and it’s summer and I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to deal with your innuendos and jokes anymore, okay? So I don’t mean to be rude, but whatever it is you’re trying to do here, I’m not interested.”_

_Carmilla visibly flinched, hurt crossing her face for a second before her usual look of disinterest returned and she smirked._

_“Right. Have a good time in college, cupcake. I’ll think of you while I’m busy becoming world famous.”_

_Laura rolled her eyes. “Yeah, okay, bye Carmilla.” And she shut the door._

“L? Where’d you go?” LaFontaine was waving their hand in front of her face.

“Oh, um, I was just thinking. I still think you’re wrong, you know.”

Perry leaned forward to pat her arm comfortingly. “LaF is right, sweetie. This should be an easy interview. Just message her on Facebook and ask if she wants to get coffee or something.”

“Annnddd,” LaFontaine sang in delight, “while you’re interviewing her, you can use your investigative journalist skills to find out if we’re right!!”

Laura couldn’t believe the amount of crazy she was dealing with today.

“So, just to be clear,” Laura asked as she glared at her friend over the top of her drink, “you want me to contact Carmilla, a girl I haven't spoken to in 5 years, who, as far as I know, is my high school nemesis turned world famous celebrity, convince her to hang out with me while she’s in town, secretly get enough information to write an entire article about her, and then prove your theory that she was head over heels in love with me in high school?

LaFontaine put their glass down with a mischievous grin. “Not exactly. I don't just think she was in love with you in high school. I think she still is."

Laura groaned and put her head down on the table. She was doomed.

* * *

 


	2. Say You'll See Me Again, Even If It's Just In Your Wildest Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift

"Ughhhh..." Laura groaned as she woke up the next morning to sunlight glaring in her face. She rolled over, stuffing her face into her pillow. "I'm never drinking again." She mumbled to herself, flinging one hand to the side to grasp for her phone.

Laura almost dropped the phone at the light coming from the screen, blinking repeatedly until her eyes adjusted. She scrolled past her Twitter and YouTube notifications to see 3 messages from Perry and 1 from LaF. She opened the messages from Perry, texting her back to let her know she was good and to thank her for the ride home. Then she opened the message from LaFontaine.

**LaFontaine:** Just in case! ;) ;)  <3 <3 followed by a link. Laura blearily clicked the link, waiting as the page loaded.

One Carmilla Karnstein’s facebook profile showed on her screen, causing Laura to let out another groan. It must have been her private account or something, because Laura recognized most of their mutual friends and all the posts on Carmilla’s wall were bad photos of Carmilla posted by her siblings. Laura chuckled at a particularly embarrassing photo of Carmilla from 7th grade.

Then Laura found herself scrolling back up to the “about” section of Carmilla’s profile. Not because she was at all interested in Carmilla’s life, of course. This was purely research. Just for her job.

No other reason.

Laura glared at her screen as it informed her she would have to friend Carmilla to see the rest of her profile. She hesitated.

“This is without a doubt, the worst, most awful, entirely terrible, decision I’ve ever made.” Laura muttered to herself.

She quickly stabbed at the screen, covering her face with one hand as she watched through her fingers while the page refreshed.

**friend request sent**

Laura let out a squeak, locking her phone and throwing it back onto the bed. Then she shot out of bed, ignoring her hangover in favor of getting as far away from her phone as physically possible.

Laura hurried into the bathroom to shower, so she didn’t see her phone light up only minutes later, letting her know that Carmilla Karnstein had accepted her friend request.

* * *

2 hours later, Laura was settled in her usual spot in the back of the Starbucks down the street from her apartment. Her laptop was open and ready to research, a cup of warm hot chocolate beside it. She picked up her phone, intending to text Kirsch about their meeting later, when her eyes register the words on her screen.

Laura let out a yelp and dropped her phone like it was scalding hot. A new notification had appeared next to the other one.

**Carmilla Karnstein has accepted your friend request**

**One new facebook message from Carmilla Karnstein**

Laura slapped one hand over her mouth to stop herself from shrieking out loud and attracting the attention of the other people in the cafe.

“It’s literally just Carmilla Karnstein! Girl the hell up, Hollis!” She hissed to herself. "Why am I so worked up about this??"

Laura unlocked the phone and then slowly pulled down the notification bar so she could read the message without Carmilla knowing she had seen it.

**Carmilla Karnstein:** Now I know I’ve really made it. I’m finally famous enough to get a friend request from Laura Hollis

Laura sighed loudly as she read the message. Typical Carmilla. She even read the message in Carmilla’s lilting drawl, picturing her speaking as she leaned against the locker next to Laura, like she did every day of high school.

Laura shook her head suddenly, trying to dispel the image from her mind. What was wrong with her today??

**Laura Hollis:** How do I know this is the real Carmilla and not some imposter?

Laura watched the bubble of text load and send, the check mark next to it indicating Carmilla read the message immediately and Laura let out a sigh of relief.

Not that Laura cared if Carmilla read it or not.

Laura watched the typing bubble appear and disappear a few times before a new message popped up:

**Carmilla Karnstein:** What if I tell you something only the real Carmilla would know?

**Laura Hollis:** Like what?

**Carmilla Karnstein:** Hmm...

**Carmilla Karnstein:** Your first kiss was with me, behind your house, on your 14th birthday. We were going to play spin the bottle later and you were worried you wouldn't know how to kiss correctly so I showed you

Now Laura did let out a loud squeak, attracting several states from the patrons around her. She felt a blush heat up her cheeks.

**Laura Hollis:** I cannot believe you still remember that

**Carmilla Karnstein:** Are you blushing, cutie? I bet you are.

**Laura Hollis:** That's irrelevant

**Carmilla Karnstein:** I knew it

**Carmilla Karnstein:** So tell me, to what do I owe the pleasure of this conversation?

**Laura Hollis:** I was trying to see if you'd gotten any less infuriating since high school, but clearly you haven't

**Carmilla Karnstein:** Ouch, sweetheart, you wound me so. It's been 5 years, maybe I've changed

Laura scoffed out loud.

**Laura Hollis:** Doesn’t seem that way, from what I’ve read

**Carmilla Karnstein:** So you’ve been keeping track of my exploits? I always knew you were obsessed with me

**Laura Hollis:** Don’t flatter yourself. I’m a journalist, I can’t avoid reading about you, no matter how hard I try

Laura grumbled under her breath. Stupid Carmilla. Why did she always know the exact things to say to rile her up??

**Carmilla Karnstein:** If this is you avoiding me, you are failing spectacularly

**Laura Hollis:** You’re all my friends will talk about this week, I’ve given up on avoiding your name

**Carmilla Karnstein:** Don’t worry, I’m used to women being unable to stay away from me

Laura rolled her eyes. Carmilla hasn't changed at all. She continued on the conversation, scoffing to herself several times as she and Carmilla caught each other up on the last 5 years of their lives. They stuck to mostly small talk and superficial topics, Laura making sure to avoid any questions about family and Carmilla doing the same. A few times Laura hesitated when an opportunity to ask for an interview came up, but she quickly decided against it, knowing that Carmilla would just shut her out.

Though she was loathe to admit it, Laura did find it easy to talk to Carmilla. Their conversations had a natural back and forth and flowed easily from topic to topic, though Carmilla was sure to take every chance to tease Laura.

Laura chuckled quietly at a joke Carmilla made about an old classmate of theirs, brushing her hair out of her face as she laughed. She looked back down to reply to Carmilla when she noticed 3 texts and a missed call.

**Kirsch:** hey, we still meeting today?

**Kirsch:** am I at the wrong spot?

**Kirsch:** Laura?

Before Laura could respond, her screen lit up with another call from Kirsch.

"Hey, are you okay? Where are you?"

Laura frowned a little.

"I'm fine, I just thought we weren't meeting until 3?"

"Yeah, little hottie, it's almost 4 now."

"What??" Laura glanced down at her phone and was shocked to see she'd been in the coffee shop for nearly 3 hours. 3 hours of talking to Carmilla. Holy Hufflepuff.

“Kirsch, I am so sorry, I’m coming right now!” Laura grabbed her things as she ran out of the coffee shop. As she ended the call and got into the car, she remembered she still hadn’t replied to Carmilla.

**Laura Hollis:** Hey, I’m sorry, I totally forgot I have to do something for work, I’m already so late

**Carmilla Karnstein:** No need to stress, Cupcake. I understand.

**Carmilla Karnstein:** Talk to you later?

Laura stared at the blinking line and the question mark at the end of Carmilla’s message. It was like Carmilla was asking if Laura wanted to talk to her again. Laura sucked in a deep breath. Was Carmilla was giving her a window to duck out of the conversation, sensing her reluctance to befriend Carmilla again?

Before she could second guess herself, Laura typed in her phone number and sent it to Carmilla.

**Laura Hollis:** Sure. Text me sometime

Then she tossed her phone in the glove box and vowed not to check it for the rest of the evening.

* * *

It was only several hours later, after finishing her meeting with Kirsch, getting dinner with a few people from work, heading home to change, and settling into bed with a box of cookies and her laptop, that Laura dared to check her messages again.

**Unknown number:** How do I know this is the real Laura Hollis and not an imposter?

**Laronica Mars:** I wouldn’t have given you my number if I knew I was just going to be mocked

**Unknown number:** Oh? Then what did you give me your number for?

Laura looked at the screen for a long moment. It would be easy to casually mention the interview now. But what if Carmilla said no? What if she got mad and stopped talking to her? Then Laura would definitely not be able to write the article and her chances at becoming a star reporter were gone. Maybe she could just get all the information she needed and then casually bring it up later?

**Laronica Mars:** So I can brag to everyone that I have Carmilla Karnstein’s number, of course.

She saved Carmilla’s number in her phone.

**Laronica Mars:** So you never told me what you’re doing back in town?

**The Broody Rockstar:** Devastating interrogation technique you’ve got here, Cupcake.

**Laronica Mars:** I’m just asking!! Just making conversation!!

Laura exited her messages and opened tumblr, absentmindedly scrolling through her dashboard. She needed to distract herself, because she was NOT going to spend her Saturday night waiting for Carmilla Karnstein to text her back. The top of the screen notified her of a new message and she fumbled with her phone in her rush to check. She let out a sigh when she saw it was just a text from LaFontaine.

“You cannot be disappointed when it’s not a text from Carmilla!” Laura thought to herself. “You hate her!! You don’t even want to talk to her!”

**LaF:** Sooooo? Did you talk to Carmilla??

**Laura Hollis:** Yeah, we’re texting right now. It’s… not awful.

**LaF:** Texting, huh? Do you mean sexting?

**Laura Hollis:** I’m not even going to dignify that with a response.

She switched back to her conversation with Carmilla.

**The Broody Rockstar:** Can I call you?

**Laronica Mars:** Call me??

**The Broody Rockstar:** Yeah, that’s typically what people do on the phone you know.

**The Broody Rockstar:** And I mean the answer to your question is kind of a long story, so it’s just easier to say it than type it.

**The Broody Rockstar:** Nevermind, it was a dumb idea.

Laura exhaled loudly. One phone call wasn’t a big deal, right? She hit the call button. The phone rang twice before Carmilla picked up.

“Hey.” Carmilla sounded breathless, like she had ran to answer the phone or something.

“Um.. Hey.” This was a terrible idea. Why had Laura done this?? Why??

She listened to the shuffling noises over the phone. She heard Carmilla speak to someone and then the noise of a door shutting.

“Where are you right now?” Laura asked nervously.

“Jeez, Cream Puff, gonna ask me what I’m wearing next?” Carmilla’s voice was rough and low and teasing and exactly how Laura had remembered it, if she had thought about Carmilla’s voice at all in the last 5 years, which she had not.

“What! No! I just!!” Laura stopped her fluster as she heard Carmilla’s chuckle through the phone. She involuntarily shivered at the sound.

“Calm down, I’m just messing with you. No need to get all twitchy.”

“There is no twitching. There is an absence of twitching.” Laura huffed indignantly. “You can’t even see me!”

“Mhmm.” Carmilla hummed through the phone, still sounding amused. “Clearly.”

“You never even answered my question.”

“Which one sweetheart? I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but you ask a lot of questions.”

“Arghh.” Laura made a noise of frustration. “I asked what you’re doing back in town?”

“Oh, right.” There was static on the other end of the phone as Carmilla settled back onto her bed. Not that Laura was picturing Carmilla in bed. She was just guessing. Anyway.

Carmilla let out a soft sigh. “Basically, I just needed a break. I love music and the band and the adrenaline of performing and all, but being famous..” She let out a little hollow chuckle. “I know it’s what everyone dreams of, and it’s all part of being a celebrity, but I... I like my privacy, you know? I hate feeling exposed, like everyone is watching my every move. I just needed to breathe a little.”

Laura nodded, before remembering Carmilla couldn’t see her. “I do. I bet it’s hard. People make up rumors and try to make you look bad.. no one deserves that. Not even you.”

Carmilla let out that low and NOT at all attractive chuckle again.

“Oh, Hollis, you make me swoon. What a compliment.”

“Don’t get used to it, Karnstein.”

They fell into a comfortable silence, Laura listening to Carmilla’s soft breathing. Then she realized what she was doing and felt the need to speak and break the silence.

“So, do you like touring?”

Carmilla hummed again. “I do. I like waking up in a different city every day. I like exploring and I love finding new art in every place we go. And, well, you know I’ve always loved the stars. It’s cheesy, but I like that, wherever I am, the stars don’t change, you know?”

“That’s… actually really nice.”

Carmilla laughed. “Did I surprise Laura Hollis?? What a day this has been."

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Which city has been your favorite?”

“I think… Germany? Probably? The band and I...” Carmilla’s voice softened as she told Laura the story of her Germany adventures.

“Oh my god!” Laura covered her mouth as she giggled. “I can’t believe you guys did that.”

“I know, my manager couldn’t believe it either. We were in so much trouble.” But Laura could hear the smile in Carmilla’s voice.

“What about you?” Carmilla asked.

“What about me?”

“I mean, like, where do you think you’d go? If you could go anywhere. Like, I don’t know, you’re on a journalism tour or something.”

“That’s definitely not a thing.”

“Just answer the question, Hollis.”

Laura paused for a second. She should be honest, right? After all, Carmilla was being honest with her.

“Austria.”

“Why?”

“My mom… She went to college there. She used to tell me stories about it before bed. I think I’d like to go there and see everything she used to tell me about.” Laura stopped abruptly, emotional. “Um, anyway,”

Carmilla took the hint that Laura didn’t want to talk about this anymore.

“Well, let me tell you about this time in Hong Kong last year…”

“Wait, Carm, you still didn’t answer my question.” Laura interrupted as she calmed down. “That’s why you’re taking a break. But why did you decide to come back here?”

Carmilla hesitated, then responded:

“Well, I have to keep some of my secrets. Otherwise I’ll lose my air of mystery, won’t I?”

Laura rolled her eyes before accidently letting out a loud yawn.

“Ah, I’ll let you go to bed now, cutie.”

Laura wanted to argue but she was pretty worn out and also was trying not to react to Carmilla calling her cutie.

“Talk to you tomorrow?” There it was again, that hesitation. Like Carmilla was afraid Laura was going to say she didn’t want to talk to Carmilla ever again. Which, Laura realized, was kind of an understandable reaction, given how Laura had spoken to her the last time they’d seen each other.

“Definitely. Goodnight Carm.” Laura mumbled, too sleepy to worry if she was allowed to call Carmilla that or not.

“Goodnight, Laura.”

* * *

****  
_Laura couldn't remember how she'd gotten here, or even why she was here, but she found she didn't really care. Carmilla was standing just inches apart from her, staring at her with what could only be described as desire. She was even wearing that horrible red flannel she always used to wear in high school, that made her look 10 times better than she already usually did. Dream Carmilla flashed her a cocky grin. **  
**_

_"See something you like, sundance?"_

_Real life Laura would've blushed and stammered out some excuse, but Laura thanked whatever God was out there that she stayed silent, only stepping closer to Carmilla and placing her hands on the small of Carmilla's back. Carmilla reached out and trailed one finger along Laura's jaw. Laura let out a small shudder at the sensation._

_"Carm... Please." Obviously dream Laura didn't care about dignity as long as she got what she needed. "I've already been waiting like 5 years."_

_Carmilla let out a soft chuckle and Laura was ready to protest, when Carmilla's hand moved from her jaw to tangle in her hair and Laura's breath hitched as Carmilla leaned forward and closed the distance between their lips._

Laura woke up to the blare of her alarm clock, just as a breathless moan tumbled from her lips. Her body was damp with sweat, her legs twisted in the sheets and one hand below the waistband of her shorts. She looked blearily at the ceiling for a moment before registering what was happening.

"Fuck!" Laura hissed, pulling her hand out to slam off the alarm clock and throwing herself out of bed. "What the fuck was that???" She ran a hand through her hair, painfully aware of the heat between her legs.

Oh my god. She had just had a sex dream about Carmilla Karnstein. She had just woken up moaning at the thought of Carmilla touching her. She had just- oh my god.

Laura forced herself to stop thinking about it, definitely because thinking about Carmilla disgusted her, and not at all because she was afraid if she thought about it any more she would get back into bed and finish where dream Carmilla had left off.

"Oh my god!!" Laura said out loud to her empty apartment.

She knew this was all a terrible idea. What was happening to her???

Laura took a moment to push the dream out of her mind and then went to grab a towel. She needed to go take a very long cold shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying this, I know I am. Find me at parttimeliar on tumblr if you need anything. Also, if you're reading my other fics, I promise those will be updated by the end of the week. Probably.


	3. Your Eyes Look Like Coming Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pining!! Exchanging glances!!! Blushing!!!! That's the shit I live for oh man here we go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cannot believe.... 8 weeks....... between updates.......... I am................ the worst.....................

On Wednesdays, Laura, Kirsch, and LaFontaine usually met for lunch during their respective breaks.

Kirsch and LaF were animatedly debating the latest episode of their favorite tv show when they both noticed Laura was strangely quiet.

LaFontaine looked at Laura curiously.

“Why are you so interested in your phone today?”

No response.

Kirsch grinned. “Oh, she’s been like this all week! I think she’s talking to a girllll.”

LaFontaine perked up. “A girl??? Perhaps a dark haired broody girl from our past???”

Laura didn’t even give any indication she heard her friends talking to her, texting quickly with a small smile on her face.

LaFontaine furrowed their brow. “L, are you even listening?”

Laura nodded without looking up from her phone. “Mhm, yeah, of course.”

“So... you don’t mind if I invite a few people to meet us at the bar on Friday?”

“No, yeah, totally, go ahead.” Laura mumbled, still texting.

LaFontaine and Kirsch exchanged looks of glee.

“Great! I gotta go, I have some phone calls to make!”

Laura looked up a few minutes later to find herself alone at the table. She felt a little bad that she hadn’t been paying attention, but it couldn’t have been anything important, right?

* * *

If anyone had asked Laura why she hadn’t been sleeping that much recently, she would have definitely told them she was up late working, or binge watching tv, or cleaning her apartment. Anything but the truth, which was that she was staying up every night into the early hours of the morning talking to Carmilla.

Laura had tried to stop, she really had, but it was just so easy to talk to Carmilla. They fell easily back into their teasing and back and forth as if no time at all had passed between them. Laura felt a little guilty about her earlier insistence that she hated Carmilla. She’d thought a lot about what LaFontaine said, and looked back through their yearbooks, and realized Carmilla had been a pretty good friend to her.

When Laura’s mom had died junior year, Carmilla had been a willing target to let Laura take her anger out on. Apparently the anger was all she remembered of high school, but now Laura was willing to admit perhaps she had been a tiny bit incorrect in her assumptions.

However, she still didn’t believe LaFontaine was right about Carmilla’s feelings towards her. And this didn’t mean Laura liked Carmilla or anything like that. No, Laura was just a mature adult, and a mature adult could admit that yes, Carmilla wasn’t as bad as she seemed, and yes, maybe her annoying comments could be seen as flirting by some people, and yes, Carmilla was probably the most beautiful girl Laura had ever seen but-

“Ughhh..” Laura groaned and dropped her head on her desk after seeing it was nearly 3am Thursday morning. What had happened to her life?? If someone had told her two years ago the highlight of her day would one day be staying up talking to Carmilla Karnstein, she would have laughed in their face.

“Well, it doesn’t matter, anyway.” Laura said out loud, to her empty room. Carmilla was only home for two weeks and then she’d be gone being a rockstar and Laura could get back to her normal life.

The thought of Carmilla leaving made Laura’s stomach drop. She had never said anything to Carmilla, but Carmilla leaving after high school had felt like a betrayal to Laura. Which was stupid, because Laura didn’t even care about Carmilla anyway and had assumed Carmilla didn’t care about her but still- it hurt.

That’s when Laura made up her mind. Whatever she was feeling about talking to Carmilla again, it didn’t matter. In a week, things would go back to the way they were and Carmilla would be gone from her life. Again. And Laura wouldn’t care. Because she didn’t have, and never had had, a crush on Carmilla Karnstein. Period, end of story.

Laura jumped a little as her phone started ringing, and she looked down to see an incoming call from Carmilla. She couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across her face.

“Right. No feelings. Just an old friend. Barely even a friend. ” Laura recited to herself under her breath. Then she unlocked her phone and all her previous worries were forgotten as she got caught up in Carmilla’s voice.

* * *

“LaF, what are you doing?” Laura eyed the table warily as LaFontaine lined up a 5th row of shots. “Perry will have a heart attack if the three of us try to drink that much.”

“Good thing it’s not just the three of us then!!” LaFontaine exclaimed happily, as Perry brought over yet another round of shots.

Laura narrowed her eyes at her suspiciously cheerful friend. “...Who else is coming?”

“Sweetie, you didn’t tell her??” Perry sighed at LaFontaine, who held up their hands in defense.

“I did!! It’s not my fault you’ve been on your phone all week, L. Kirsch and I talked about it at lunch on Wednesday. You agreed and everything.”

Damn. Laura couldn’t really argue with that. She had been there, after all. And it’s not like she was against hanging out with other people, but honestly? Laura had been planning on pretending to be sick and leaving early so she could watch a movie over the phone with Carmilla or something.

“Alright.. Who else is coming?”

Both of her friends were suddenly extremely interested in the glasses on the table in front of them, LaFontaine pushing them around and Perry straightening each row.

“LaF…….”

“Laura, you know we’ve always kept in contact with Danny. And she’d talked about meeting up with us while she’s here so-”

Laura exhaled with relief, cutting Perry off. “Oh, Danny? That’s cool. What is she doing in town anyway?”

Perry gave her a confused look and then glared at LaFontaine. “You said she knew!”

LaFontaine was barely holding back laughter now. “Okay, this I maaay have forgot to mention this part to her.”

Perry gave Laura a sympathetic look. “Well, Danny works with Will and J.P. Armitage-”

“Oh yeah, the twins. They were in my history class junior year.” Laura said cautiously, wondering why Perry was looking so nervous and LaFontaine was looking so entertained.

“-and Matska Belmonde so we just thought we could have a little high school reunion and-”

“What?” Laura could feel the dread growing in her stomach as all the pieces clicked. She knew where this was going, but she still refused to believe it. “Why are they all in town??”

Perry let out an exasperated sigh. “Because they work with Carmilla! So they’re all coming and we’re all going to hang out and it’s going to be great! Okay!” She sat down abruptly and LaFontaine patted her on the back gently.

“Good job, Per. I think she’s taking it really well.”

Laura was still standing next to the table, frozen as her thoughts caught up to Perry’s words.

Carmilla was coming. Tonight. She was going to see Carmilla, tonight. Carmilla. Tonight.

“And, of course, today had to be the day I wear my owl sweater!” Laura mumbled as she ran off to the bathroom to fix her make up.

LaFontaine looked at Perry with a grin. “See, I told you this would be a great idea!”

* * *

Kirsch showed up while Laura was in the bathroom and then, ten minutes later, the group arrived. As they came in through the back of the bar (Perry had mentioned something about necessary methods to avoid paparazzi), Laura felt her heart stop. She was barely aware of the rest of her friends beside her, greeting Danny and Will and J.P. and Mattie and exchanging hugs, because she couldn't take her eyes off of the slim figure standing behind Danny.

There stood Carmilla, looking almost exactly like she had 5 years ago, although maybe a little older and her eyes a little less sad. Still had a jawbone that could cut glass and perfect eyebrows and those lips.... Laura felt the spark of anger inside her at Carmilla's breathtaking appearance, before she realized that maybe that dizzy feeling in her head and the heat low in her stomach wasn't anger but-

Laura's train of thought was interrupted as she finished slowly taking in every inch of Carmilla and stopped at her eyes, which were looking at her with an amused smirk and one eyebrow raised.

"Carm.." Laura breathed out.

"So, you're one of those girls who gets speechless around celebrities, huh?" Carmilla's husky, low voice was even better in person.

Not that Laura would EVER admit that.

“There’s a celebrity here? Where?” Laura asked snarkily, pretending to look around the room.

“Shut up.” Carmilla smiled and shoved Laura’s shoulder good naturedly as she moved past her to say hi to the rest of her friends.

Laura reached her hand up to the spot where Carmilla’s hand had just been, her skin still tingling like she’d been electrified. Her whole body felt weirdly on alert and slightly… Nervous? And Carmilla was acting... weird. She seemed more at ease and less angry than she had been in high school. Although, Laura had already noticed that during their conversations at night, she had just assumed she was imagining it. This was all very confusing.

Laura shook her head and shuffled over to the rest of the group who were settling into the booth, sliding in across from Carmilla, who gave her a tiny smile before blushing and directing her eyes back to where Kirsch and Danny were already arguing. Laura felt her heart rate pick up.

This was ridiculous. She was 23 years old, for god’s sake, why was she acting like a 12 year old with a crush? And around Carmilla, of all people. It was just Carmilla Karnstein. She tried to distract herself from her thoughts and turned back to the conversation happening at the table. Perry was speaking.

“To be quite honest, I never would’ve thought you’d all end up working together.”

“Well, who else was going to hire these lackwits?” Carmilla smirked, earning herself a smack on the arm from Danny and an insulted noise from Will.

“Who are you kidding, darling, you were lost without us.” Mattie gave Carmilla a fond but yet somehow still condescending look from across the booth. Carmilla just rolled her eyes.

“Mhm, you’re just bitter because me refusing photoshoots means less chances for you to dress up.”

“Just between us,” Will said, leaning forward on the table, “I personally think Kitty refuses interviews because the world will discover how much greater I am and replace her with me.”

After that, the table dissolved into multiple conversations, everyone catching up on five years of events. Laura learned that Mattie played bass in Carmilla’s band, with Will on drums and J.P. on keyboard, as well as all the tech and soundboard stuff. Danny was Carmilla’s manager and unofficial bodyguard. They probably said a lot of other interesting things too, but Laura really was doing a terrible job of paying attention. Every so often she would sneak a glance at Carmilla, and like 50% of the time, she caught Carmilla staring at her. Or Carmilla caught Laura looking at her. Either way, it was getting more and more difficult for Laura to hide the way she flushed every time she made eye contact with Carmilla. She really only started listening again when the conversation went back to being about Carmilla.

“Nope, I don’t believe it. You guys used to hate each other. There’s no other explanation. You guys have never hooked up?!” LaFontaine was gesturing between Danny and Carmilla. The redhead had just finished a drink-off with J.P. and the alcohol was clearly taking effect.  

Carmilla began laughing out loud while Danny gagged.

“Please. Only in Xena’s dreams.” Carmilla said with a smirk as she leaned back against the booth, throwing her arm over Danny’s shoulders.

Laura felt an unexplainable sense of relief at the news that Carmilla and Danny weren’t dating.

“Gross.” Danny shoved Carmilla’s arm off of her. “I wouldn't touch you if you were the last person on Earth.”

Carmilla slapped a hand to her heart, gasping in mock horror. “Why, Danny Lawrence, how dare you! Have you not read a magazine lately? People Magazine named me the number 3 hottest celebrity!! I am a fucking catch!”

Danny took a sip of her beer as she pretended to give Carmilla a once over. “Eh.” She shrugged. “Not my type.” Their friends all laughed at the offended look on Carmilla’s face.  

Carmilla scoffed at Danny’s statement. “Don't kid yourself, Xena. I’m everyone’s type.”

Will took this opportunity to chime in: “Oh man, you should see the girls that throw themselves at her while we’re on tour. It’s crazy!”

Laura made a little noise and Perry gave her a weird look. She shook her head at Perry and took a long drink as Will and J.P. launched into a story about one of the stops on their tour.

Carmilla hadn’t mentioned any girls while they were talking this week.

Not that it would have bothered Laura if she had.

Laura certainly wasn’t jealous.

When Perry went with Mattie to get more drinks for everyone, LaFontaine slid down the booth to whisper to Laura:

“You might want to be a little less obvious about checking out Karnstein.”

Laura choked on her drink, whipping her head to glare at LaFontaine.

“I wasn’t- I mean- I just-” she spluttered.

Suddenly Laura felt the bench dip slightly as someone slid in on the other side of her.

“That bunched up little face you make when you’re angry is hilarious, buttercup.” Carmilla’s voice purred in her ear. Carmilla’s body was flush against Laura’s as she leaned around Laura to address LaFontaine.

“What did you say to get her so worked up? I’d like to know so I can use it sometime.”

LaFontaine grinned triumphantly. “Well, I just pointed out-”

“LAF!!” Laura screeched, cutting them off frantically. “I swear, if you finish that sentence I will tell Perry what really happened to her basement last summer!”

“I knew those stains were too thick to be soy milk!” Unfortunately, Perry had returned from the bar just in time to hear Laura’s statement.

LaF looked at Laura with wide eyes, pleading for a defense, but Laura just shrugged at them innocently as Perry grabbed LaF by the tie, dragging them away, no doubt for a lecture about the difficulties of carpet cleaning.

Laura sat back and had almost managed to calm her heart rate, until Carmilla spoke to her again.

“Something you don’t want them to tell me, cupcake?”

Laura didn’t think a voice could even be that attractive, but somehow Carmilla’s was.

“Um!” She squeaked. Carmilla chuckled lowly, but luckily didn’t pursue the topic.

“Hmm. I really thought Danny would’ve lasted a little longer.”

Laura turned to see that Danny had disappeared from the booth. She furrowed her brow. “Where’d she go?”

“You’re the journalist, I’m sure you can figure it out.” Carmilla drawled, still pressed again Laura, making concentrating very difficult.

“Um.. Oh. She and Kirsch- oh.”

“Mhmm.” Carmilla hummed and Laura felt her whole body heat up from their close proximity to one another. “And Mattie found some poor soul at the bar and William and J.P. are in the middle of seeing who can hook up with a girl first.” Only as Carmilla spoke did Laura notice that she and Carmilla were the only ones left at the booth.

“Oh..”

“You didn’t notice, did you? You’re awfully distracted tonight, cutie. Something on your mind?” Carmilla sounded like she was only teasing Laura, but her eyes were looking at her with such intensity that Laura felt a bit faint.

“It’s just.. It’s really good to see you again, Carm.” Laura was amazed she managed to form a whole sentence, but also pleased when she saw the slightest blush on Carmilla’s cheeks from the nickname.

“Do you want to, um,” Carmilla blinked and suddenly Laura realized Carmilla was nervous. “Do you want to get out of here?” Laura didn’t even hesitate, nodding rapidly and Carmilla gave her a genuine smile that took Laura’s breath away.

How was she able to be so seductive and so adorable at the same time??

Carmilla slid gracefully up and out of the booth, giving Laura a moment to take a deep breath.

“She’s just a friend.” she reminded herself.

Then Laura reached up, taking Carmilla’s extended hand and letting Carmilla lead her out of the bar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of angst planned for chapter 4 but i'm reconsidering... I'm thinking about just making this all fluff we'll see.. idk when the next chapter will be up but some time in the next 3 weeks. Definitely lots of fluff to come  
> parttimeliar.tumblr.com


	4. And For The First Time, What's Past is Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> okay like really how many times can Laura accidentally fall on top of Carmilla

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cannot believe..... I said I would update in 3 weeks, and here's the next chapter, EIGHT MONTHS LATER. See the end of this chapter notes for my many apologies.  
> If you can't remember what's been happening, Laura and Carmilla and all their friends were at the bar, seeing each other for the first time in 5 years and then Carmilla and Laura decided to sneak out

The cold air hit Laura as they stepped outside, sobering her up. Carmilla released Laura’s hand as soon as they were out the door (not that Laura cared) and reached into her pocket, pulling out a lighter. She started flicking the lid open and closed.

“Do you smoke?” Laura asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

Carmilla flicked the lid up and down one more time just to annoy her.

“Nah, this is just a nervous habit, I guess.”

Laura opened her mouth to inquire further because why would Carmilla be nervous? when a piercing scream rang across the parking lot.

“CARMILLA!!!!!”

Carmilla and Laura both spun towards the noise in time to see a small horde of teenage girls waiting in front of the bar, their eyes wide at the sight of Carmilla.

Laura stood stock still as Carmilla began to slowly walk backward.

“You know they can still see you even if you don’t move, right?”

“Shut up, Carmilla, they’re your fans, not mine. My line of work doesn’t exactly lead to hordes of crazy teenage girls stalking me.” Laura mumbled out of the side of her mouth. “What do we do?”

The girls began running towards them.

“Can you still run as fast as you did in 7th grade when Kirsch said boys were faster than girls and you had to race him to prove him wrong?”

“What?” Laura exclaimed, but Carmilla was already dragging her towards the back fence.

Carmilla reached the fence first and, grabbing the top, pulled herself up and over, dropping to the other side.

“Carmilla!!” Laura shrieked from the other side of the fence.

“Come on, cupcake, it’s time to go!”

Laura could not believe Carmilla was laughing while Laura was about to be trampled by Carmilla’s crazy fans.

“I hate!” Laura huffed out as she dragged herself up the fence, “You! So-” Her hand slipped and she toppled over the fence, knocking Carmilla down as she landed.

“...much.” Laura mumbled from the ground.

“Smooth landing.” Carmilla snarked from beneath her.

Laura, opened her mouth, ready to protest this whole situation, but the fans had reached the other side of the fence. Carmilla shot up and grabbed Laura’s hand, pulling her up.

“Let’s go!” Carmilla shouted and Laura ran, laughing, behind Carmilla Karnstein, famous rockstar, and tried to tell herself her heart was pounding from the adrenaline and not from the fact Carmilla was still holding her hand as they ran into the night.

 

* * *

 

A few blocks later, when the screams of Carmilla’s name, they slowed their pace. Laura took the opportunity to shove Carmilla.

“What the frilly hell was that?!” Laura exclaimed as Carmilla, out of breath, chuckled and leaned against a nearby wall for support.

“One of the perils of being famous, cutie. Nothing I can do about it. But you should have seen your face when I jumped that fence!”

Laura knew she was angry with Carmilla but somehow it was hard to hold onto that anger when Carmilla’s eyes sparkled while she laughed.

“Ugh!” Laura pulled Carmilla away from the wall and started walking again, eager to put more distance between them and the screaming girls, and muttered to herself, “Stupid, useless, rock star…”

Laura didn’t look back so she couldn’t see the fond look of adoration Carmilla was giving her. “Where are we going, cupcake?”

“Don't pretend you don't recognize this place, Carmilla.” Laura whispered loudly as she led Carmilla towards the backdoor of a dark building.

“You brought us to the library? Wow, you really know how to treat a girl, cutie.”

“Oh, come on. You loved it here. We spent like, every afternoon here until high school.”

Carmilla had a weird look on her face that Laura didn’t understand. “I know, I just didn’t realize you still remembered that.”

Actually, Laura couldn’t figure out why she remembered that either, or why she had thought of it as the first place to take Carmilla, or why she grabbed Carmilla’s hand as she pulled her through the door and into the library.

 

* * *

  


“You know…” Laura was overly aware of sound of her voice as she trailed behind Carmilla, who was wandering through the shelves. “You seem.. Different. ”

Carmilla looked back at her as she turned a corner, raising her eyebrow in her signature look. “Wow, I save a girl from being trampled by a mob of my own fans and still she insults me.”

“What, I- No, no, not bad different.. Just different. Less broody. Happier.” Laura internally cursed at herself. What was she saying?? Why was she rambling?? Why did being alone with Carmilla make her feel like everything was brighter and why was she so aware of the distance between the two of them??

“Broody?” Carmilla broke her out of her internal monologue. “Psh. I was never broody.”

“You were soo broody. All black clothes and vague statements and dark looks”

“For you information, sweetheart,” Carmilla smirked at Laura’s flustered-ness, “that is called being mysterious and it’s a big hit with all my fans. Everyone loves a sensitive loner.”

“Oh my god.” Laura rolled her eyes at Carmilla’s ego. “Forget it.”

“No, I-” Carmilla grabbed Laura’s hand to stop her from stomping off in the opposite direction. Laura looked down at their hands and Carmilla let go of her like she’d been burned.

“I think I just.. In high school, I was desperate to get out of here. It was like…” Carmilla’s voice had changed and she had a look of deep thought on her face. Laura almost wanted to hold her breath, afraid that any noise might break Carmilla out of her revive. “Like I was always looking for something. And music helped me and the whole experience has been incredible and you’re right, I am a lot happier, but I know… something is still missing. And that’s why I came back. Because I went all over trying to find this one thing and I think maybe all along it’s been-” Carmilla coughed and stopped herself. “Do you know what I mean?” She looked at Laura with that really intense look again that made Laura’s heart beat so loud she was sure everyone in town could hear it.

“I..”

Suddenly Carmilla blinked and the moment was over. She let out a stiff laugh.

“Nevermind. I’ve been spending too much time with you, clearly. I’m rambling.”

Whatever Carmilla had been talking about, it was clear the topic was closed. Laura was still dazed and desperately looked around for a new topic.

“What’s that?” Laura asked. She gestured to the book Carmilla had pulled from the shelf.

“Hmm?” Carmilla glanced down at her own hands as if she’d forgotten where they were, then held up the book. “Oh, Kipling. ‘Black as the pit and terrible as the night was Bagheera’?  I always loved that. It’s beautiful.”

“Or, you know, terrifying, because giant black cat.” Laura responded shakily. What was wrong with her? She was just so distracted by the way Carmilla looked as she spoke; it was like seeing her rock star persona fade for a moment, letting her walls down. For the briefest second, Laura thought she had never seen anyone look so beautiful.

The silence was broken by a loud sound as Carmilla’s most popular song began blaring from Laura’s pocket. Laura jumped and immediately began fumbling for her phone to silence it, even as Carmilla began to laugh.

“Holy shit, am I your ringtone?! Oh, Hollis, this is too good-” She was cut off as Laura furiously tried to cover her mouth with one hand, shoving Carmilla against a shelf while she answered her phone with the other hand.

“Hello? Danny? Yes, I-” She swiftly moved the phone to her shoulder to silence it while she shoved Carmilla. “Oh my god Carmilla do not keep licking my hand I swear to-” Carmilla grabbed for Laura’s phone and hung up on Danny, grinning victoriously as the phone began ringing again and Carmilla’s song started again.

Laura, blushing so much she thought her head might explode and extremely flustered, did the only thing she could think of, which was tackle Carmilla to get the phone.

“Seriously, cupcake, alert the press, I can’t believe I’m so famous that even you-” Carmilla’s gloating sentence was cut off again with an oof! As Laura knocked her onto the ground and yanked the phone out of her hand. Keeping Carmilla’s hands pinned so she couldn’t steal the phone again, Laura tried to blow the hair out of her eyes and answered her phone for a second time.

“What? Oh, yes, everything is fine, Danny, of course.” She shot a murderous look at Carmilla who was laughing so hard she was shaking. “Yes, we’re fine... Oh, she’s not answering her phone? I’m sure it’s not on purpose.... What??? No, we’re not-” Laura spluttered and looked down at Carmilla again, who she had pinned to the floor and was currently sitting on, and blushed even more. “-no, we’re just talking... No, I had no idea she wasn’t allowed out without a bodyguard....” Carmilla, still grinning below her, rolled her eyes. “It’s okay, I’ll send her back right away... Okay... Bye Danny!” Laura hung up the phone and glared at Carmilla.

“You know,” Carmilla said thoughtfully as she wretched one of her hands free and tapped her chin in a fake-deep way, “I think I may have forgot to tell you: I’m not supposed to go out without a bodyguard. They protect me from tiny angry journalists who tackle me.”

“Ugh!” Laura stood up and stalked out of the library.

 

* * *

 

Somehow, they’d ended up outside Laura’s apartment. Laura knew she hadn’t had that much to drink, so she didn’t know how to explain why she felt like she was floating.

“You didn’t have to walk me home, you know.”

“Oh, I’m just delaying going back to the hotel. Danny is going to kill me. And if she doesn’t, Will will. And Mattie will help bury the body.” Carmilla shrugged. “They think I can’t be out without a bodyguard. The perils of being a celebrity.”

“Oh, come on. Like you haven’t snuck away from them before.” Laura shook her head. “You’re _Carmilla Karnstein._ ”

Carmilla let out a soft laugh. “I told you, cupcake, I’m not that bad now. There has to be something really good for me to sneak out and incur the wrath of that whole group.”

Laura blushed and began babbling. “Okay, I’m not encouraging you to break the rules, but, I mean, since you’re already in trouble… You could come over tomorrow. If you want. I mean, I’m not doing anything anyway.

“Are you asking me to hang out with you? You know I’m like a vampire, right? Once you invite me in, you can’t get rid of me.”

“Don’t make me take it back, Karnstein,” Laura warned, but they were both smiling.

“Oh, please, like anyone would not want to hang out with me. I’m “ _Carmilla Karnstein_ ”,” Carmilla smirked, using the same tone Laura used earlier.

“You’re insufferable!!” Laura was laughing though, and shook her head in disbelief. “It’s true though. I can’t even imagine what high school Laura would say if she knew I was out at 3am with “ _Carmilla Karnstein_ ”.”

“Yeah, well, like I said. Things have changed since then, right?” Carmilla tilted her head slightly and looked at her with that look again.

Laura felt her breath catch. “Yeah.. maybe they have...”

They both turned as the flash of headlights swept by, announcing the arrival of Carmilla’s ride.

There was an awkward pause and Laura was shocked to find she was disappointed Carmilla was leaving. She stepped backward towards her door before she did something crazy like kiss Carmilla. “So, tomorrow then??” she blurted out quickly, and then hurried inside.

Carmilla stood on the curb, staring at the spot where Laura had been standing.

“Yeah… Tomorrow.”

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off I'd like to say I dedicate this chapter to the anon who messaged me back in MAY, the one who I promised I would update this fic by the end of MAY and now here we are in AUGUST and I am so sorry.  
> Let it be known that I felt guilty about not updating every day for the last EIGHT months. And that I will not abandon this fic.  
> And I know what you’re thinking: she makes us wait EIGHT months and then she gives us a filler chapter????? I know, I know. I know, okay? This was supposed to be a one chapter fic, don’t ask me how we got to this. If this is going too slow just let me know in the comments or something.  
> Also I changed my URL so i'm at allloversbetray.tumblr.com if you need me now. Honestly, yelling at me on anon makes me 10000% more likely to update so. Yeah. Well, maybe not yelling. Gentle conversation is really more my speed. We can talk about how SEASON THREE IS COMING.  
> Again. I am so so sorry about the wait. Terribly sorry. The worst.


End file.
